Five California Cities Sign Equal Pay Pledge The California Black Media Political Playback:

Tanu Henry California Black Media

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Five California Cities Sign First Partner’s Equal Pay Pledge

Last week, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom announced five cities -- Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Long Beach, and Fresno -- have signed the California Equal Pay Pledge.

“The pledge is a The California Equal Pay Pledge is a partnership between the Office of the First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency to turn the strongest equal pay laws in the nation into the smallest pay gap in the nation,” according to the governor’s office.

Kimberly Ellis, Director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, said closing the gender gap is something California “must do.”

“From building credit to building wealth, we know that the wage gap has greatly hindered progress toward actualizing women’s equality,” says Ellis. “The City and County of San Francisco is proud to support the First Partner’s initiative and look forward to doing our part to making pay equity a reality for all women in the Golden State.”

Siebel Newsom said public and private partnerships are essential to closing the gender gap.

“Pay inequity stems from a patriarchal system that was not built with gender equity in mind, but instead built to keep money and power in the hands of few men in control,” she said.

California Black Media is following up with a report on gender and employment that focuses on data specific to Black women.

State Invests $1 Billion in New Homelessness Funding

Last week, Gov. Newsom announced $1 billion in new funding for local communities to address homelessness and take emergency action to construct new homes to move unhoused Californians off the street.

Homelessness remains one of the state’s most stubborn problems as California’s homeless population keeps mushrooming, growing to approximately 160,000 people (about half the population of homeless people in the United States). Per every 100k people, California’s homeless population ranks third after New York and Hawaii.

“In California, we are using every tool in our toolbox – including the largest-ever deployment of small homes in the state – to move people out of encampments and into housing,” said Newsom. “The crisis of homelessness will never be solved without first solving the crisis of housing –the two issues are inextricably linked. We are tackling this issue at the root of the problem by addressing the need to create more housing, faster in California.”

Under his new plan, Newsom has deployed the California National Guard to assist in the preparation and delivery of approximately 1,200 small houses free of charge to four local communities: Los Angeles (500 units); San Diego County (150 units); San Jose (200 units) and Sacramento (350 units).

Former Black Caucus Member Jim Cooper Appointed to State Commission

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New Evacuations as Storm Brings California Floods

ALLENSWORTH – New evacuation orders were in place Sunday near two small central California towns where a levee was breached following recent downpours, as yet another winter storm brought the threat of major flooding.

The agricultural communities of Alpaugh and Allensworth, home to a total of about 1,400 people, were ordered evacuated because of “the possibility of residents becoming isolated due to impassible roadways,” the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

A flash flood watch was issued for parts of the San Joaquin Valley in Tulare and Fresno counties, as well as for Sierra Nevada foothill areas, said the National Weather Service in Hanford.

Crews worked Saturday to repair a breached levee along Deer Creek just north of Allensworth, a historically Black town in southwestern Tulare County, Cal Fire spokesperson Jazz Shaw told the Fresno Bee. Rain began Sunday as the first of two storms expected this week moved into California.

The state has been hit with 11 atmospheric rivers this winter that have sparked floods and landslides, toppled trees and power lines, and stranded mountain residents in historically deep snow.

Museum to Start Archeological Dig on Newly Donated Land

By MIKE DETMER

The Star Democrat

EASTON, Md. (AP) - The Academy Art Museum has acquired the properties at 106, 108 and 110 Talbot Lane for the creation of an annex, thanks to a generous donation by AAM trustee Elizabeth “Diz” Hormel. Land records and archeological studies have identified that the land was originally owned by Henny and James Freeman beginning in the 1780s. The Freemans were one of the earliest documented free Black landowning families in Easton.

Through the end of the month, the Ottery Group, a Maryland consulting firm that offers services in archeology, historic preservation and the environmental sciences, will conduct an archeological study that builds on three previous studies of the Freeman site led by University of Maryland Department of Anthropology researchers Mark Leone and Tracy Jenkins in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Through rigorous testing, including ground- penetrating radar, shovel testing, and test unit and feature excavation, the UMD team collected approximately 20, 000 artifacts. Based on the results of these investigations, it is likely that the site contains additional, well-preserved archeological deposits from the period of Henny and James Freeman’s ownership, from 1787 to 1828. The research will be led by Lyle Torp, who founded The Ottery Group in 1998, and Matthew Palus. On March 29, community members are invited to the site to meet the archeologists and learn about their initial findings. AAM Director Sarah Jesse will also be on site to share the museum’s future plans.

Kimberley Ellis, Director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women speaking at a press conference March 14 in Sacramento.